BEIJING OLYMPICS: China's anti-smog measures fail to clean skies -- study
Alexis Madrigal
August 5, 2008
Wired.com
Air pollution sensors and photographs of the Beijing sky are showing that the Chinese government's efforts to clean up the city's air before the Olympics begin Friday are not having a big impact, according to an independent data analysis.
A Wired.com analysis of four weeks of data from air pollution sensors set up by the BBC Beijing bureau found that Chinese authorities' drastic anti-smog efforts -- including traffic bans, factory shutdowns and construction slowdowns -- are not making the skies any cleaner. Pollution levels do vary, but only in response to meteorological conditions, such as rain, according to the readings.
On most days, Beijing's air rarely contains fewer than 50 micrograms of particulate matter per cubic foot of air. The World Health Organization considers any concentration of particulate matter higher than 50 micrograms to be unhealthy.
Still, Chinese officials insist that their anti-smog efforts will result in the "blue-sky" Olympics. For example, they deny that the city's lack of visibility is caused by smog.
"Clouds and haze are not pollution. This kind of weather is a natural phenomenon. It has nothing to do with pollution," Du Shaozhong, deputy director or the Beijing municipal bureau of environmental protection, told the state news agency Xinhua last week.
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